The (pernicious and ubiquitous) UVA
by Linstock
Summary: At the wake for Captain Sparrow, Starfleet Academy's furriest officer, Uhura hears surprising information about Spock's cadet years. This story continues Hopefuladdict's series including "In Memoriam" and the "Tales of Captain Sparrow," a collection written by Hopefuladdict and me. VickieFromGreece joined in with, "This is All Your Fault". These authors are in my favorites.


Title: The (pernicious and ubiquitous) U.V.A

Author: Linstock with additions by SpockLikesCats.

Code: Spock/Uhura, ST2009

Rating: M

Type: Humour, Romance, minor Angst.

Beta Credit: I sent a raw story to my amazing beta, SpockLikesCats and she once again worked her magic. She paid me the great compliment of enjoying the story enough to want to join in the fun. My special thanks for her assistance with all things military.

Warnings: Mention of death of a pet.

Summary: At the wake for Captain Sparrow, Starfleet Academy's furriest officer, Uhura hears surprising information about Spock's cadet years.

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or the characters from the TOS or the 2009 movie. I do not make any profit from this work. Captain Sparrow is the property of Hopefuladdict. Cmdr Archibald and the rest of the people at the wake are my original creations.

AN: Hopefuladdict started this off with her fic "In Memoriam" which was followed by the "Tales of Captain Sparrow," a collection of short stories written by Hopefuladdict and me. Vickiefromgreece joined in and wrote a related story, "This is All Your Fault". Recently I found I still had a Captain Sparrow story to tell...and with Hopefuladdict's kind permission "The Tale of Captain Sparrow" continues...

The U.V.A.

The evening was winding down. Captain Pike stood propped against the wall at the side of the room, watching the slide show and sipping his drink. He felt relaxed for the first time in many, many months. The pressure of overseeing the building of the Enterprise was exhilarating, exhausting and constant. They were in the process of testing and re-testing each system prior to full space trials. He'd had to fight for every improvement and every alteration however minor, spending his days up to his neck in Starfleet politics and prickly egos or reading the fine print on Fleet contracts. He sighed, breathed in deeply and as he breathed out, he let the tension go.

Pike smiled as he saw the holopic of Captain Sparrow drenched and dripping, staring malignantly at the camera, another victim of the automated sprinkler system.

Earlier in the evening Lt Cmdr Teg'bar had carefully set a miniature projector on a small table near a blank wall, then rapidly entered some codes on her Padd. Captain Sparrow himself, larger than life, had appeared gazing down from in front of the wall at the room's inhabitants with an expression of mild distaste. A ripple of nudging and pointing ran through the room accompanied by a few gasps and sobs. The image disappeared and another appeared in its place. Image after image appeared … a holopicture tribute to the departed orange tabby Starfleet officer. The room rang with laughter and sad sighs.

There'd been an appeal for any holosnaps featuring Captain Sparrow and Pike had contributed several images. Obviously he wasn't the only one who'd responded. Pike was surprised when an image of himself appeared… _where had that come from_? He'd gazed in amazement at his younger self, not a grey hair on his head … had he ever really looked that young? Standing beside him holding a half grown Captain Sparrow tightly around the middle was his son Sam, he must have been only twelve or so in that picture. From the Captain's expression he was barely tolerating Sam's enthusiastic attention, and no wonder, if you were going to hold a cat, Sam was doing it all wrong.

The holopics flickered in and out, a countdown of Captain Sparrow's life. As the cat aged those in the background of the pictures aged too. There was one of first-year Cadet Spock sitting under a tree, Captain Sparrow curled neatly on his lap. Not only the cat looked achingly young. As Pike watched he saw, in an accelerated dumb show, friendships wax and wane, couples meet, part and then form new couples. The history of an Academy cat was really all their histories.

As the evening passed the show flicked steadily on, repeating in an endless loop.

This wake for the dear departed Captain, the fleet's finest furry four-legged officer, had been a good idea. Pike hoped his own wake would be as as heartfelt and fond ... when the time came. Now most of the wake's young participants had drifted away to do whatever youngsters did these days and many with families had made their apologies and left as well. The remaining people had clustered into distinct groups. To the right of the room were two tables, the larger surrounded by mostly male Starfleet officers; the smaller table by females. Most of these groups had been in the Academy together with a few exceptions such as Cadet Uhura.

In the middle of the room some Starfleet civilians were currently engaged in singing sad songs very, very badly. Pike knew several of them had provided homes to the Captain's many offspring, not something many active duty Starfleet personnel could do. Pike wondered if the tradition of the ship's cat could be revived. Might be good for crew morale. He made a mental note to look into that further.

The third group was the smallest. Over by the wall to the left sat Cmdr Spock, Lt McIntyre, Lt Cmdr Teg 'bar and Mike "Raymie" Raymond, as fine a collection of hard-core geeks as one would find anywhere and all happily engrossed in engineering and technology talk. Pike tuned into their conversation and grinned, they were arguing about – scratch that, "discussing" – the thorny issue of the Enterprise's malfunctioning lateral thrusters … it seemed he wasn't the only one obsessed with that fine young lady.

The geek contingent shared the small table with the projector. Pike watched quietly as Spock's stylus moved over his Padd with inhuman speed and precision. Padds were passed back and forth across the table. Pike heard Raymie's Boston accent as he reiterated a point. A senior civilian engineer, Mike knew his craft backward and forward. As the discussion grew more intense, twice McIntyre got up and scurried around to peer on tiptoe over someone's shoulder before re-joining the "discussion".

Raymond signalled to the bar for more drinks then turned back and said a few words that led to more frenetic tapping on Padds. McIntyre leaned over and entered something onto Teg'bar's Padd and the holosnaps of Captain Sparrow disappeared, leaving an empty square of light. "_Hey_," said an indignant voice. "Where's the guest of honor?" Teg'bar held up a long-fingered hand, saying, "Sorry – we'll be just a few minutes." A nod toward Captain Pike, and an explanation: "Enterprise engineering refinements."

One by one, holographic schematics appeared in the quadrants of the square. Teg'bar fiddled, moving the tiny projector back and forth until the images were clear. Pike angled his head; it seemed each quadrant held the image from a different Padd. Teg'bar produced a laser pointer that went rapidly from hand to hand as needed. Several times they all sat back and looked intently at the images in front of the wall, three slouched figures and one ramrod straight. Then Spock would say a word or two and it was back to intense, focused activity. Pike watched as the images before the wall changed. He gestured to the bartender to send another round of drinks to the table and smiled as the server removed empties and replaced them with full glasses, unnoticed.

Suddenly Raymond gave a short exclamation and jumped up. Speaking rapidly, he moved into the light of the projected image, which rippled over his portly body as he circled his finger around a portion of one hologram, emphasising his point. "This_, right here,_ is what caused most of the problems with fine manoeuvring in space trials last week. The helmsman was ticked off about it, and I'm right with her on that. It's a basic flaw in the design!". The discussion paused and the drinks were drained Spock and McIntyre held a brief and intense conversation and made more alterations on McIntyre's Padd. Raymie pointed at something, shaking his head. Pike squinted to see. He ran his eyes over the images and nodded; he was pretty sure where they were going with this. If he was right the Enterprise's problematic lateral thrusters were in for some significant improvements. He grinned ruefully; this would mean another fight with bureaucracy ... so be it. Mike Raymond would be right there with him, battling the Padd-patters1 when Pike was away on trials.

Pike shifted his attention to the straight figure with the shining immaculate cap of black hair. He'd taken an avuncular interest in Spock ever since he'd been his first-year adviser when the green – he rolled his eyes at his unintentionally insensitive use of the Standard colloquialism – cadet first arrived at the Academy. Pike had taken the young Vulcan under his wing, supported and advised Spock throughout his turbulent fourth/class year, and been deeply gratified at how he'd come along. There wasn't anyone else Pike wanted as his first officer.

=/\=

Pike finished his drink and wandered over to the bar for a refill. He leaned on the bar, hip cocked, watching a cluster of twelve or so people standing holding beer bottles at different heights and angles. Lt Cohen was moving around, adjusting their positions. Lt Cmdr Ryus was giving orders ...

"... swept down …. _Smiddy_ ... swept_ down_...", with heavy emphasis on 'down'.

Lt Smidders, who was on tiptoe, holding his bottle as high as possible above the rest abruptly dropped his bottle, squatted and neatly caught it below the level of the other bottles. The "bottle" commenced firing from below. Sound effects were provided courtesy of the contingent still seated round the table. Studying the arrangement of the bottles Pike concluded that they were re-enacting the Battle of Old Town, an interesting engagement with unusual tactics, and Lt Smidders' bottle would be the "Perth".

Pike's guess was confirmed a minute later when Ryus said, "… and that was the first time the "Perth drop" manoeuvre was used."

Pike smiled indulgently as the battle reached its conclusion to general cheering. Several of the re-enactors drifted away and the rest sat down, exhausted from their efforts, and took a long drink. Pike decided that wasn't a bad idea and took a sip out of his own.

At the adjacent table the ladies, Cmdr Smitherson, Lt Cmdr Seow-Woo, Lt Knopp, Lt Martin and Cadet Uhura watched the battle with interest and chatted. Pike allowed himself a few seconds to admire the group.

Cmdr…no, _Margret _Smitherson, with her close cropped dark red hair and a sprinkle of freckles on her nose was just his type, well built and tall, with razor-sharp form. She was a fine officer; witness her quick climb in rank. Pike recalled hearing of her superior performance in a recent inter-cultural incident. Her quick thinking had prevented a diplomatic crisis and earned her a field promotion. Not to mention she was easy on the eyes.

Jan Seow-Woo barely cleared Smitherson's shoulders and was softer looking; her gleaming dark hair was in a braid, neatly coiled. Her rounded face gave her quite the air of sweetness. Pike knew better than to fall into that trap; she was rapidly advancing in the Starfleet legal team and she was a _tiger_. Pike wasn't so familiar with Lt Knopp; she was probably about due for promotion. Attached to Potemkin, she had just returned from a 24-month mission near Klingon space. Knopp could've been Smidders' sister – curly blonde hair and ivory skin, blushing now as she was laughing. She had a nice laugh.

Grace Martin, now a Starfleet Reservist, was well known to him and had cost him. As a cadet she'd been a wild child but she'd reined that in by now. In most respects she seemed ordinary but she had one dominant characteristic – the most expressive, limpid brown eyes Pike had ever seen – and she could use them to great effect. The air of innocence she could project with those eyes – incredible. Gave her fibs credibility, that is. During the Cadet Cruise Month Pike had neglected to assign her a great many well-deserved academic demerits and been called on the carpet for it. Pike snorted and sipped his drink – he hadn't even known what "limpid eyes" were until he saw Martin.

Finally he looked at Uhura, assessing. No doubt about it: she was outstanding, and not just because of her quick intelligence or her sympathetic and friendly nature. She was willowy and graceful, and that long hair of hers emphasised the energy in her walk. She'd been pretty tipsy earlier in the evening but she'd switched to non-alcoholic drinks. Pike approved, so many cadets didn't know when enough was enough. He was pleased to see Cadet Uhura joining in the conversation around the table, for here rank was forgotten and they were all just friends and admirers of the late and lamented Captain Sparrow.

=/\=

"Captain Sparrow was such a darling." Martin hiccupped. "Even though he left yellow hairs all over my uniform." She ordered another ale from the server, a cheery Bolian.

"That's because you always left your uniform lying on your bed," said Smitherson dryly, turning to the server. "I'll have a glass of the house red wine."

"Do you remember the pathetic way that Matthew used to try to garner dates using Captain Sparrow as bait?" asked Seow-Woo. "… a Cardassian Sunrise please."

"Do I remember? How could I ever forget! 'Where's Spock? I gotta find Spock!'" The last was obviously an imitation of "Matthew's" desperate tone.

Cadet Uhura frowned. "Who was Matthew, and why was he looking for Cmdr Spock? … uh, I'll have a Nudie2." Smitherson raised an eyebrow at her. Uhura shrugged, smiling; the server had already gone to the bar to get their orders.

Martin rested her elbows on the table and put her chin on her clasped hands. "It's a long story."

"Full of drama and intrigue," added Knopp in a mock-dramatic voice, doing a drum roll on the table with her fingers. "Start at the beginning, Grace."

Martin said, "When Spock was just an innocent, callow cadet…" Uhura's brain froze for a second, these weren't words she associated with Spock. "…He came within a hair's breadth of dropping out." At Cadet Uhura's surprised expression Martin nodded solemnly.

Smitherson leant forward, nodding. "It's true, somebody had assigned him to share cadet quarters with … Sigmund Gonzalez." All three of the women sat back as if distancing themselves from the name. Their drinks arrived.

Martin continued, "Gonzalez was a grade A, class one..."

"_Ass_," all four said in unison and with feeling, and drank.

"Very _smart_ ass, but ass nonetheless," said Smitherson, holding up her wine to examine its colour.

Knopp chimed in, "I have never known anybody so impressed with himself, even if he had some cause, being a prodigy and all, but by my stars and garters he was completely obnoxious."

"He _deliberately_ shut the Captain's tail in a door once. Broke it too." Martin angrily clapped her mug on the table, spilling some ale.

Cadet Uhura frowned as she remembered, "The end about 5 cm from the tip?" She held up her index finger slightly bent to illustrate. "I thought it'd been broken."

"Yes, it was. On purpose. Gonzalez _said_ it was an accident, when I brought it up to his Barracks Commander, but it wasn't. I was there, I saw," Martin said with steely conviction. "The Captain had committed the egregious sin of getting between Gonzo and his human prey. Alicia Tenuto thought Sparrow was cuter than Gonzo was."

"_Ass_," the others repeated with feeling.

Uhura took a long drink of her Nudie. She didn't think "ass" covered it … to deliberately harm an animal was unconscionable.

"Unfortunately, Gonzo was smart and good looking and charismatic in his sick smarmy way, so he had followers. Those sorts of obnoxious bullies always do." Martin shrugged to indicate such things were beyond understanding.

Smitherson continued the story. "Whoever was in charge of barracks assignments had this bright idea that Spock and Gonzalez would provide each other with academic challenge. I suppose Spock, Mister Controlled, was probably the only person who could bear to be in close proximity to Gonzalez for any length of time." She shook her head sadly.

Seow-Woo swallowed some of her drink and said, "The thing the powers that be totally overlooked was, Gonzalez wasn't only an arrogant little subhuman particle; he was ridiculously competitive. The very fact that Spock was so oblivious of Gonzo's blatant hostility only made matters worse. Things got very, very nasty fast."

Knopp swirled her drink. "You wouldn't believe the slanderous rumours Gonzo and his 'crew' started! Like the one where Spock had 'deliberately injured Gonzo' during combat training."

"Oh, or the time Spock 'tried to give Gonzo a fatal allergic reaction to a mysterious Vulcan herb'." Martin drank some ale.

"And don't forget the 'involuntary mental contact' Spock supposedly 'inflicted' on the jerk," added Smithson. "Though I imagine that would probably be the _last_ thing any Vulcan would want to do – contact that idiot's mind."

"When nasty rumours didn't work he upped the ante and began sabotaging Spock's projects. Finally he started a vicious rumour about Spock's mother. Some disgusting nonsense about aliens and …well you can just imagine the sort of thing. We don't know all the details, all we know is, he and Spock had some sort of confrontation outside the gymnasium …"

"Rumour had it ... it got physical," Seow –Woo whispered. "They were both away a few days afterward. We heard Spock was leaving…"

"Then the rumour mill said Gonzo was 'on a special accelerated maths course' in Russia. We didn't care as long as he was g-o-n-e. But Spock came back. He never said a word about it." Knopp nodded as she spoke.

"When I asked him about the bruise on his face he had 'no comment on the matter'," Seow-Woo added, rolling her eyes.

"Ha!" Smitherson raised her glass. "Here's to a signature Spock phrase." They all sipped.

"Spock was transferred into then-Cmdr Pike's care. First thing Pike did was put Spock in with Cadet Matthew Brakenridge-Jons." Knopp said.

"We thought this was as stupid as putting him with Gonzo at first," Martin elaborated, "but as it turned out it was a stroke of pure genius. Matt was a jock through and through, a born Redshirt. He was academically competent but no genius. His 'brains' were in his body."

"And _how. _Big_,_ built and _beautiful_. If they wanted to make a holo about 'Thor', Matt could play the role," sighed Smitherson. Then added, "as long as he didn't have to act, just fight, or move about looking Nordic and fit."

"Spock, on the other hand, was a brainiac of the first order; anybody could see that, but he was no slouch when it came to the physical stuff either." The others nodded at Martin, exchanging sidelong glances Nyota was at a loss to understand. "After they'd gone through the usual male sparring matches figuring out who was best at what, the two settled down nicely. Spock tutored Matt when he needed it and Matt helped Spock understand people and social interactions. Matt was polite, gentle and easy going. Once he got over the shock of having a pedantic perfectionist sharing his room, he relaxed." Martin smiled as she remembered.

The four women exchanged another loaded glance, then Smitherson looked at Uhura and said, "Until Spock began to outclass Matt in a way he'd not anticipated."

Uhura looked from one woman to another, confused. Maybe Cadet Matthew Brakenridge-Jons fancied himself as a three-dimensional chess champion? It seemed unlikely, going by the description.

"Women," pronounced Smitherson decisively. "In our year, of all the male cadets, Spock wasn't just the most successful academically, he was the most successful with women."

Uhura felt a sharp spear of jealousy stab through her.

=/\=

The participants in the Battle of Old Town had recovered from their exertions and this last statement caught the attention of Cmdr Archibald.

"I resent that statement. The record needs to be set straight," declared Archibald and his demeanour of intensely injured dignity made Uhura smile. His expressive long, swarthy face was a mask of despair. Archibald made a dramatic gesture as he appealed to the others at his table. "It is a fact, is it not gentlemen – that the _only_ reason that Spock was so successful with the ladies was because of the U ... V ... A."

Smidders leant forward, wavy blond hair flopping over his forehead. "Absolutely! Without the U.V.A. Spock would have been _nothing_." He made a wiping movement with his hand. "We were severely disadvantaged."

Archibald's rich baritone boomed out, "We suffered mightily; we strove, but in vain. Wherever we went, whomever we met, the U.V.A. was against us. How could we overcome such unfair odds? We struggled bravely but were doomed from the outset."

"U.V.A." said Ryus loudly and all the men raised their arms as if to grab an imaginary bellpull and pull it down briskly, exclaiming "Uhug!"

The women looked at each other, mystified.

=/\=

Archibald saw the expressions on the women's faces and sighed theatrically, his head drooping. He turned and addressed Uhura in a voice breaking with emotion, "Dear young lady, you must understand our miserable plight. We struggled in vain against a cruel and crushing dual standard. Let me illustrate. If a woman asked _us_ the universally dreaded question, 'Does this make my posterior look big?'" – A bitter murmur ran through the group – "We were required to answer to the contrary, no matter what the evidence of our eyes told us." He gestured with his drink round the table with a sweeping motion. "Had _we_ stated that wearing that particular garment made her backside resemble that of an Agorian Wattle Beast, we would have been cut off," he made a slicing movement, "and only extensive grovelling and copious quantities of fine beverages and chocolate would return us to good favour. If the same question was posed to Spock and _he_ replied the garment in question 'did emphasize the size of her posterior, making it appear 1.43% larger than its already considerable, but feminine, proportions', _this_was deemed a statement of fact, for he was only being honest, and a different garment was hurriedly donned."

"It was manifestly unfair, a blatant double standard," muttered Cohen into his beer. There was more head shaking. "If _we_ couldn't attend an event it was because we were slackers and philistines. If Spock couldn't attend, it was because _he_ was a dedicated student with other pressing calls on his time."

Balderdash's deep voice rumbled as he continued the tale of woe, "If _Spock_ did not profess himself to be head over heels in love with a young lady, this was attributed to his Vulcan heritage ... nothing more could be expected. It was their pleasure to teach him what they could, and warm his sterile existence. We, on the other hand, were considered heartless brutes, and we were driven from the fold! Mr Spock, in short, had an Unfair Vulcan Advantage!"

Once again all performed the arm pump and grunted "U.V.A.! Uhug!"

=/\=

Uhura told herself to get a grip. She wasn't naive. Spock wasn't the only man she'd been with, so why should the reverse apply? There was ample evidence to the contrary; Spock was a skilled lover, familiar with a woman's body. She'd known this and yet it was different hearing it.

=/\=

Smitherson's and Martin's postures were mirror images of each other as they sat back with arms crossed. Smitherson turned to Martin and said, "It's sad, really, when you consider that these guys are the brightest and best Starfleet has to offer. A little competition and they all crumble."

Ignoring them, Ryus ran his fingers through his spiky brown hair and announced, "I'll give you another example. If Spock was in the mess and someone's ex-girlfriend walked in, any _decent_ friend would have refused to talk to her, or cut her to size with a few well-chosen words … not Spock. He'd behave as if nothing had happened! He'd sit down and have a conversation with her!"

"You _will_ note it was a 'conversation'," said Smitherson in an aside to Uhura while still keeping her eyes firmly on Ryus. "Such as two sensible adults might have, probably on a topic nothing whatever to do with the jealous, seething ex, a point the aforementioned jealous ex wouldn't even think of."

There was a loud, derisive snort from the other table.

Nyota got the strong impression this wasn't merely hypothetical.

Smitherson looked directly into Ryus' light blue eyes. "You'll be surprised to know there's good scientific evidence showing the universe doesn't revolve around you!"

"I suppose all those women trooping in and out of his room were there to be 'tutored'," replied Ryus, the quotation marks evident.

"You've got to remember Spock was even less experienced than _you_." Smitherson's voice dripped scorn.

"O-ho!" said Archibald, raising his glass as if in compliment to Smitherson's acidity. "The quality of mercy droppeth not here!"

Uhura couldn't help wondering at Smitherson's attitude toward Ryus. What had happened between these two?

Cohen said, "Matt planned to use the Captain to redress the imbalance caused by the U.V.A. ..."

"The poor man was driven to these extremes after a hideous revelation …" said Archibald. "Matthew discovered that the gratifyingly constant stream of women seeking him out and coming to his room weren't there to see _him_." He drew breath to continue …

Ryus cut in, stating baldly, "They were using him to meet Spock."

"A bitter pill indeed," lamented Archibald in sonorous tones. There was a general murmuring and shaking of heads. "Matt had fallen victim to the U.V.A."

"What he means," Martin confided to Uhura, "is that some female cadets found it a delightful change to have somebody who actually wanted to _talk_ to them," she smiled with saccharine sweetness at the men's table. She began ticking things off on her fingers. "To have a companion who knew how to behave himself in public … and keep his hands to himself … a man who treated a woman's career ambitions as equal to his own … and was prepared to put in time listening and offering helpful advice..."

"_You_ seem to know a lot about it," said Smidders flatly.

"You know Spock and I were friends when we were cadets. _Friends_." She said, "You guys got so hot and bothered because you thought he was jumping into bed with every female cadet he spoke to - when 90% of the time they were just friends."

"The other 10% was still a significant number," said Lt Cmdr Venkatesan. He hadn't uttered a word all evening. Everyone paused and stared at the handsome Indian. "Matt didn't take it well," he said, staring into his half-full glass as if it was a crystal ball.

This statement brought a loud snort of derision from Smitherson. "You mean it brought out his competitive streak. And that's another thing you lot have never understood." She pointed at the men. "The 'competition' was all in Matt's mind. Spock didn't, and doesn't, see women as something you 'win', he actually sees them … us … as _people_, with goals and ideas and the ability to make decisions. _There's_ a novel thought for you."

Ryus looked at Uhura and continued, "None of the female cadets had the pleasure of making Spock's acquaintance until one hit upon the idea of becoming friendly with Matt. This gave her an excuse to visit the room when Spock was there. Others caught on fast. And of course roommates often hang out together in the cafeteria and rec room, although 'hanging out' wasn't exactly what you did with Spock, you had 'stimulating conversations'."

Lt Smidders snickered slightly, showing how inebriated he was. "It wasn't their conversation they wanted stimulated."

The female officers, in almost complete unison, crossed their arms and sighed.

"The U.V.A. is what drove Matthew to his subterfuge – using Captain Sparrow as bait," Lt Cohen offered.

Balderdash cut in, pointing a finger upward as he said to Uhura, "You must remember we do not talk about the senior, dignified but battle-scarred gentleman you knew. Then he was a callow youth as were we all. An object of beauty, his nose unmarred and ears as yet unscathed: if he looked at a maiden with his large limpid eyes she would melt."

Uhura for a surreal moment thought Archibald was talking about Spock ... she had a sudden vision of an elderly Spock, his face deeply lined with a ragged scar slashed across his nose and his ears in tatters … then she realised he meant Captain Sparrow_. How much had she consumed before she'd stopped drinking?_

Unaware of Uhura's confusion Archibald continued, "… To sit with the Captain reposing on your knee was to be surrounded by female cadets billing and cooing, receptive and affectionate. By association, they transferred those positive feelings to any gentle and sensitive soul the Captain chose as his companion. "

"Matt simply used the tactical advantages available to him like a good Starfleet officer," said Venkatesan, nodding slowly.

Ryus added, "It worked, up to a point…"

Grace Martin snorted. "The point when Matt opened his mouth!"

"If Matt had spent less time chasing Captain Sparrow and more time getting to know the female cadets he'd have fared better," said Knopp.

"If he was outclassed, he had only himself to blame," agreed Martin.

Smitherson snickered. "He could especially blame his lack of conversational skills."

Archibald sighed and shook his head. "The hard unfeeling nature of the Starfleet female is a thing that has greatly disturbed me over the years."

Ryus sounded thoughtful when he said, "Actually the Sparrow Factor worked better than you give it credit for. But the problem was while Matt was out chasing the Captain, Spock was in their room…"

"_Studying_," finished Cohen dryly.

=/\=

Nyota struggled to look composed. She was horrified to feel tears prickle her eyes and hurriedly reached over to pour a glass of ice water from the jug on the table. It seemed Spock had been some sort of cross between Gaila and Jim Kirk. No, she was being ridiculous and unfair. Uhura sighed; jealousy didn't bring out her better self.

Martin noticed the tears and patted Uhura's back. Fortunately she misunderstood entirely. "Hush up you oafs, you're upsetting Cadet Uhura. She was the one who nursed the Captain in his time of need. You're upsetting her – button it. "

There was a general muttering and the playful combative mood dimmed. Archibald came over, raised Uhura's hand to his lips briefly, and said sincerely, "I apologise for having distressed such a lovely young lady." Nyota couldn't help but smile, even through tears.

=/\=

Captain Pike, leaning on the bar, indulgently watched the re-enactment of the battle and the conversation amongst the ladies that led Archibald to pontificate. Pike smiled when the men simultaneously performed an arm pump and a war cry_. Ahh, what it is to be young_.

Because he could see without hearing, Pike was watching faces and body language. Take Smitherson and Ryus for example: their body language fairly shouted. Pike vaguely remembered they'd been together on and off while in the Academy but were then assigned to different ships. Evidently something lingered unresolved, maybe they'd eventually sort it out, maybe not, but in the meantime they were both productive officers. Relationships and Starfleet didn't easily mix ... a well-established fact; twice divorced, he should know.

He noticed Cadet Uhura was growing increasingly dismayed. She struggled to hide it but something was upsetting her. Captain Pike casually moved down the bar closer to the two tables and, unnoticed, tuned in to the conversation.

As soon as he caught the drift he realized this was a red alert situation.

Pike knew about Cmdr Spock and Cadet Uhura's relationship. He'd satisfied himself it didn't breach any regulations, although the Academy Command staff would not view it favourably. He trusted Spock to use good judgement. As long as they were discreet, Captain Pike was willing to let the fling run its course. Spock was going to be his First Officer and not many new relationships could survive a five-year separation.

Cadet Uhura was an outstanding Teaching Assistant and translator, but there was no way Pike was assigning a freshly minted ensign to the Enterprise; her only shipboard experience had been the usual Cadet operational exercises, the Cadet Cruise, and later, a brief assignment off-planet, translating at some diplomatic conference. The flagship's five-year mission needed experienced crew. Cadet Uhura'd have to clock up some real space time and experience before he'd consider her. But he wouldn't prevent Spock accumulating some good memories to take with him.

Pike looked toward Spock's table. The projector resumed showing the Captain Sparrow holopics and Teg'bar placed the laser pointer back in her tunic pocket. At that point Spock looked up and Pike caught his eye. Spock must have read something that concerned him because he frowned. Pike looked pointedly at Uhura and Spock's gaze travelled there too.

=/\=

Ryus said in a slow and thoughtful tone, "Of course there was Leila." The others looked at each other and nodded.

Venkatesan said, "She was the only one to catch Spock without chasing him."

"Did she catch him? Really? I know they spent a lot of time together but it seemed very hands off to me," said Smitherson.

"The hands might have been off but she definitely liked to look and she sent out the 'hands off' signals, she was just discreet, like Spock. Not like some others – who practically listed their conquests in their service record," sneered Seow-Woo.

Archibald's rumbling bass voice almost purred as he said, "They were a perfect picture together. She … the fairest English rose with flowing golden locks and eyes of cornflower blue, he, tall, dark and brooding … she was day to his night, he was silence, she was music … to see them was to …"

"Answer me this, Balderdash, can you actually talk like a normal person … at all … ever?" asked Smitherson with an air of earnest inquiry. "Come on … try it …" she spoke in a cooing voice and made encouraging gestures with her hand as if coaxing a shy child to speak, "you can do it…just try…"

"Philistine." Archibald declared, seeking solace in his drink.

"You know I remember now, they were always sending messages to each other weren't they?" mused Ryus, totally ignoring Smitherson and Archibald, "Spock seemed to be constantly checking his communicator and giving that non-smile of his."

"That's right!" Martin leaned forward. "I remember! It was out of character for him - he was usually so focused that if his personal communicator chimed he'd ignore it – but not after he met Leila. I only remember because one of the lecturers actually reprimanded him."

"No? Really? I don't believe it," gasped Knopp.

"It's true!" Martin crossed her heart. "Well, _reprimanded_ may be a bit strong," She said, "something like, 'Excuse me if I'm interrupting your vitally important _communications _with my _lecture_, Cadet Spock'." This was said with a strong Australian drawl and several of the people clustered around the table shrieked with laughter and commented … "Richardson to a T!" and "perfect!"

"After Lelia, Spock changed." Venkatesan's soft voice somehow cut through the hubbub. The others sobered and nodded.

Knopp said, "I think Leila was the one that got away."

Uhura felt an invisible hand reaching into her chest, squeezing her heart.

"Sad, really," said Martin, "they seemed like such a good pair, both totally obsessed with their sciences. When she was offered the Xenobotanist position on the Itawai expedition she took it. When it came to a choice she chose her career. Not that Spock minded, he said it was 'logical'."

"He did," said Smitherson, "several times as I remember. But I don't think I ever saw him with anyone else after that."

"No," said Knopp, "I think Leila was pretty much the real …" her voice trailed away as she caught the meaningful looks from the others at the table. She plastered a bright smile on her face and turned around. "Hello, Spock …"

=/\=

They walked through the sleeping campus in silence. Spock kept his hands behind his back and allowed Nyota to choose the distance between them. It was three point two times wider than their norm. Usually their silences were companionable; this one stretched between them like a frozen lake. Spock suppressed a shiver. It was only when Captain Pike had signalled him that Spock consciously realised the topic of conversation at Uhura's table was his romantic history when a cadet. A period of his life he considered instructive but also destructive.

After twelve point seven minutes Nyota said, "How did your discussion go?"

_Ah, an evasion of the issue, but at least she is speaking. _

"It was satisfactory. We have a solution to the problem with the lateral thrusters I described last week."

"Good, that's nice."

Spock noted her uncharacteristically distracted tone. She didn't ask for details. She was usually fascinated by every particular of the Enterprise and would bombard him with questions. Her disinterest seemed ominous.

Three more heavy, silent minutes passed before they reached Nyota's dormitory.

"I liked your friends," she said quickly.

Spock was attempting to determine whether this statement required a response when Nyota wished him a perfunctory good night and slipped through the door so quickly he didn't have time to respond.

He stood looking at the closed door as the latch caught with a firm and final "click". There'd been no "accidental" brush of her fingertips on his, no final backward glance. Spock realised how much he treasured these small tokens of affection now they were absent.

=/\=

Over the next few days, despite being fully occupied with his teaching commitments and research, Spock found his concentration diminished. Several times he suppressed an urge to contact Nyota. He hadn't seen her since the wake for Captain Sparrow, but this was normal. Because of her schedule this semester, he didn't see her in the first part of the week and they did not usually exchange emails or comms … they were discreet about their relationship.

But this time it didn't feel normal. It was more like the tense period of high pressure before a storm.

That evening, Spock was performing some simple katas to calm his mind and relax when his doorbell rang. When he checked the viewscreen he saw Nyota, glancing around and fidgeting. He pressed the button to allow her to enter.

Nyota didn't look at him. "I want to apologise for my behaviour the other night. It was both immature and unwarranted. I'm sorry."

Spock experienced a sensation akin to a time when, as a child in the desert outside Shi'kar, he'd heard a marauding le'matya and concealed himself among some rocks. The le'matya failed to detect him there. Something dangerous had passed him by.

Nyota looked into his eyes and took a deep breath. "It hurt … hearing what they said. I know no one meant to hurt me. I know I wasn't being very rational, but I felt what I felt, and I needed to deal with that. Thank you."

"For what?"

"For allowing me the space I needed to think, not calling and justifying, pressuring me or explaining what didn't need to be explained." Nyota became thoughtful. She touched his forearm, tracing a finger toward his hand as she continued, "You know one of the things I love about you is, you allow me time and space to blunder around in my messy human thoughts and emotions. You mightn't understand, but you give me space, you listen and still value me."

Suddenly Nyota was in his arms. She held him fiercely with her head pressed against his chest. Spock wrapped his arms around her, savouring the press of her body against his. He pressed a light kiss near the crown of her head and allowed his head to rest on hers. Now he could relax; for the first time in three days he felt at peace.

She continued, "I'm glad you have friends, I'm glad others value you and I'm even trying to be glad about those other women … well, not exactly glad … but after all," she leant back in his arms and smiled softly at him, "I reap the benefits of all that experience."

Spock demurred. "Not so much experience."

"Then you must have been a good student," she replied firmly. Spock could see Nyota was struggling with her emotions; she took a deep breath then pressed her face against him again so her voice was muffled when she said, "Did you love her… Leila?"

Spock considered the question honestly. "I valued her and admired her dedication and scientific knowledge. After she left I regretted the loss of a stimulating and interesting companion. But I did not experience the degree of disturbance I have experienced in these last three days."

Nyota stroked her hand against his cheek. "Spock, I'm so sorry."

"Regretting what has passed is illogical."

Nyota nodded. She looked up and grinned cheekily. "Any more dark secrets I should know about?"

"I do not have dark secrets," replied Spock .

"Oh I think you do. You almost dropped out …"

"I experienced some initial challenges adapting to living amongst a predominantly human population …"

"You were the class playboy …"

"I do not 'play'," Spock said … perhaps with a tone of suggestiveness.

"Nevertheless ..." Taking Spock's hand, Nyota moved toward the bedroom, smiling. "Want to come play…with me?"

Spock did not object.

=/\=

1 Padd patters: Starfleet talk – Pencil-pushers.

2 Nudie: A "Nudie" is an Aussie fruit juice brand specialising in fancy juice blends. Obviously in the future this company has globalised!

A/N: What do you think? Did you smile? Did this work or are there holes you could drive a truck through? Your comments are not just welcomed they are treasured!


End file.
